San Francisco, Nisan 5734.

Copyright (C) 1974 by Holy Beggars' Gazette
Reprinted by permission.

Transcribed by (Rabbi) Elana Rappaport (Schachter),
Reb Shlomo speaking.

                  ELIJAH'S CUP

      One ordinary night the Apter Rav made a feast. When the holy Apter makes
a feastele it is okay with everybody, but the Hassidim wanted to know why he
was making a feastele that particular night. This is the story he told.

      Somewhere, somewhere lived a very wealthy Jew. As wealthy as he was, he
spent half his fortune to buy a cup for Eliyahu HaNavi. At the seder on Pesach
night you need a special cup for Elijah the Prophet. You put it on the table
and you believe that he is coming to drink from it. So this man put his heart
and soul and half his fortune into buying a cup for Eliyahu HaNavi.

      Then the saddest thing happened. Suddenly he became very poor, he lost
everything, but G-d forbid, he would never sell the cup of Eliyahu HaNavi.
When it came to two days before Pesach and he didn't have enough money to buy
maize, he had nothing, he said to his wife, "I'm sorry to tell you, we have to
sell the cup of Eliahyu HaNavi. It's very good to have a cup for Eliyahu if
you have a seder, but if you don't even have a seder, what good is the whole
thing?" His wife refused; she would not let him sell the cup of Eliyahu
HaNavi. They had a little fight, and by erev Pesach morning he was very upset
with her. "What do you mean you are not selling the cup? You don't even have
Matza!" She still refused to sell the cup. He was very angry with her, "I'm
going to the Bais Medresh" he said. "We don't have anything to eat at home, I
have nothing to do, so I might as well be studying."

                He had just left when a very wealthy man knocked on the door
and asked if this was the home of the very great and learned scholar so-and-so.
She told him it was. "I have come from a very far country. I heard of your
husband and I would like to be at the seder with you." The woman said, "I
should very much like to invite you to the seder, but we have nothing to
eat." "Oh, that's no problem," he says, "I'm a very wealthy man. Here is
money. Do me a favor, buy food for the whole week because I want to spend
Pesach with you." He left her a sack of gold pieces, asked when she was
beginning the seder, and promised to be back on time. So the woman prepared a
beautiful seder. The poor husband came home very late. He was sure there would
be no Yom Tov candles and no matza in his house. What a surprise when he came
in found a great feast! She said, "We can't start the seder yet, because we
have to wait for the rich man," and she told him the whole story. They were
waiting, waiting, waiting. He doesn't show up. Finally it was twenty minutes
before midnight. You have to eat Matza before midnight, so they ate fast,
rattled off the seder, and had a feastele, but they were really sad that their
guest didn't show up. Then when the time came for the man to open the door for
Eliyahu HaNavi he wanted to get up, but suddenly he couldn't keep himself from
falling asleep. The door opened and Eliyau HaNavi comes in, the rich man. He
said to the woman, "Thank you so much. I am so glad you didn't sell my cup."
He blessed her with the greatest blessings in the world. When he walked out
the husband woke up again. "What's happening? I don't know why I fell asleep.
She told him the whole story of why he fell asleep.  You didn't get to see
Eliyahu HaNavi because you wanted to sell his cup, but I was so strong that,
thank G-d I didn't sell the cup, so he spoke to me."

   Finally this little Yiddele died and he came up to Heaven. He really deserved
Heaven and he was just about to slip through the door when Elijah the Prophet
came along and said, "Not while I'm around, brother". This is a very 
deep story.

      Deep down Elijah probably realized the man didn't really believe in Elijah
the Prophet, he didn't really believe in miracles. So what are you 
doing in Heaven?

      So Elijah the Prophet blocked his way. What could he do? He didn't deserve
Hell, so he wasn't going to Hell, but he couldn't get into Heaven eithor. He
just sat by the gate. Four years later his wife came and Eliyahu HaNavi came to
greet her with all the tzaddikim, and all the holy people. They wanted to take
her into Gan Eden right away, but she was a faithful woman and she wanted to
know where her husband was. They told her Eliyahu HaNavi wouldn't let him in
yet, he wasn't ready for Heaven. She said, "If my husband isn't going in,
neither am I." So they were both sitting at the gates of Heaven.

     The holy Apter said, "Yesterday Eliyahu HaNavi came to see me. I told him,
"Eliyahu, really, cut it out. How long are you going to make them sit like that
by the gates of Heaven? Let them in already!" So Eliyahu promised me last night
that he would let them in today. So tonight I am making a feast in their honor,
to greet them in Heaven."

***********************

    There are Chassidic stories and there are Sephardic stories. The Sephardic
Jews' top man is Elijah the Prophet. Chassidim also like Elijah the 
Prophet, but
not as much as the Sephardim of the Spanish tradition. There is a book called
Niflaim Maasecha, "Your Wondrous Works". These are stories which were
written in the 17th century. I should tell you this one holy thing. The Sanzer
Rebbe said about these stories that if you do believe them you are a fool, and
if you don't believe them, you are wicked.


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Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 16:23:22 -0400
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New York, Pesach 5753
Reprinted from Cong Kehilath Jacob News

Rabbeinu speaking

          Pesach is the most strenuous most energy-demanding
holiday. It's weeks of preparation, everybody knows that one
crumb of chometz (bread) makes ten thousand tons of matza unfit.
There are things that if I have a little of, it's also good. If I'm
hungry and have just one plate of soup it's also good. But when
it comes to freedom, to be Jewish, to believe in G-d, it has to be
total and complete. A little crumb which doesn't belong there
can ruin everything.

           Seder night, we are becoming Jews. Please, please let it
be the holiest night of our lives. It would be sad to waste such a
holy evening with mundane and unimportant things. Believing
is not just something which we don't understand. Believing is
the understanding of the soul - not the mind. Believing is total
trust in G-d. I bless you with the night of all nights. With
totality of all totalities. Seder night is the night when G-d in His
infinite mercy gives us the privilege to show our children how
we love them totally. Seder night I show the poor man how I am
totally devoted to helping another human being. There was a
time when some of us were poor economically. Today most of us
are poor spiritually. For the seder I invite all those who are
poor. I invite all the children of the world. Then I stand by the
open door and wait for Elijah the Prophet. Please G-d, tell him
to come.

          Blessings and love, Brother Me.
